KAROOR NILAKANTA PILLAI

Karoor Neelakanta Pillai (1898–1975) was born on February 22, 1898, in Ettumanoor near Kottayam. He began his professional life as a government school teacher and entered the literary world in 1932. His first short story, Bhrityavatsalyam, was published in the Mathrubhumi weekly. Over his career, he authored more than 200 short stories, the novels Gowri, Hari, and Panjiyum Thuniyum, ten children’s books, and the short play Appuppan. He received the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Aanakaran (children’s literature) in 1959 and for the short story collection Mothiram in 1968. He played a key role in founding the Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Society in 1945 and served as its secretary from its inception until 1965. Karoor Neelakanta Pillai passed away on September 30, 1975.